Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Hold" from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $141.13.

BFAM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $125.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $104.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $137.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bright Horizons Family Solutions news, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 800 shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.94, for a total transaction of $109,552.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 31,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,248,563.50. This trade represents a 2.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at about $64,735,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 141.6% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 14,784 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,676,000 after buying an additional 8,666 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 1st quarter worth about $27,467,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at $981,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 784,896 shares of the company's stock worth $86,395,000 after acquiring an additional 51,024 shares during the last quarter.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of BFAM stock traded down $4.16 on Thursday, reaching $106.99. 1,025,545 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 378,999. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $132.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.49. The stock has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a PE ratio of 53.79 and a beta of 1.49. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a one year low of $85.95 and a one year high of $141.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.05. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a net margin of 4.44% and a return on equity of 13.23%. The firm had revenue of $719.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $713.16 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc provides early education and childcare, back-up care, educational advisory, and other workplace solutions services for employers and families in the United States, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, and India. The company operates in three segments: Full Service Center-Based Child Care, Back-Up Care, and Educational Advisory and Other Services.